Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multipurpose snow removal system and more particularly pertains to retrofitting the snow removal system to indoor plumbing and the method of using the snow removal system for outdoor snow removal.
In northern climates, the problem of snow accumulation on rooftops, around the base of buildings, on vehicles, and in walkways during the winter is significant for several reasons. As it relates to rooftops, the continual accumulation of snow causes a weight-loading problem which, over the period of a winter, may damage structural roof members, and has on occasion caused a roof to collapse. Further, snow accumulation on rooftops is subjected to alternate heating and cooling during winter days and nights, causing moisture to run down the roof surface and accumulate in the form of ice formations along the eaves of the structure. The ice formed on the eaves can be dangerous. Heat absorbed by the roof surface from inside, and from the sun on the outside of the structure, causes the snow accumulation to begin melting, but no heat is present over projecting eaves, and the water from melted snow re-freezes when it runs down to the projecting unheated eave surface. Accumulation of ice formed along the eaves soon causes water to be dammed and thereby prevented from running off the roof, and this water eventually seeps up underneath shingles to leak into the inside of the structure.
Furthermore, snow accumulation on the ground around the structure and on walkways cause additional problems. The snow around the base of the structure affects the heat level within the structure. Snow accumulation on walkways makes them impassable and dangerous. Snow accumulation on vehicles can make them inoperable if the snow is not first removed from the front and rear windows.
Problems such as the ones described above have been solved in the past with the use of the various prior art references. By way of example, the prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,369, to a snow removal device for pulling down sections of snow from a roof. The device permits a user to subdivide and then pull down sections of snow accumulated on a roof or other surface. The device has an elongated handle that supports an oppositely disposed blade and cutter. The cutter has a taut wire between the side struts. The wire is attached to a top edge of the blade. The user draws the cutter through a section of snow, subdividing a rectangular slab of snow from the accumulated snow, then flips the device over and removes the slab with the blade. The U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,369 teaches a manual snow removal device and not a snow-melting device.
The invention of Mittelstadt, U.S. Pat. No. 3,998,486, teaches an apparatus for removing snow from an inclined surface such as a structural roof. The apparatus of the invention includes an elongated flexible sheet having a low surface coefficient of friction, and adapted for sliding along the inclined surface, the sheet being attached to a rod and the rod having an attachment for propelling the apparatus. The Mittelstadt patent functions much like the U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,369 patent for snow removal. The rods of Mittelstadt cut through the snow like the side struts of the 369 patent. The apparatus of Mittelstadt is a manual snow removal device and requires a great deal of physical exertion to remove the snow.
To reduce the physical labor required with manual snow removal apparatus, non-manual snow-melting devices which use electrical heating element have been invented. U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,925 to Garner is such a device. Garner teaches a portable device for melting ice and snow. Additionally, there is U.S. Pat. No. 3,898,429 to Chodak, which teaches a portable electric water-heating device.
Garner teaches a portable device for melting ice and snow. The device has a support with a heating device. The support carries the heating device and a switch for activating the heating device and deactivating the heating device when the pivotal angular relationship between the support and the handle is changed a given degree. The device of Garner has a tank with an electrical heater secured thereto. The tank has a multiplicity of heating and distributing tubes mounted on the tank. The tank may have a liquid contained within the tubes. During use, the device of Garner is positioned on the roof with ice or snow. When the tank is on the roof, the fluid in the tank is heated up by the heater. The tank, once heated, is run across the ice or snow to cause it to melt.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,898,429 teaches a portable electric water-heating device which is a portable snow melter that is manually operated. The device has a hollow handgrip of dielectric material having attached thereto an elongated wand carrying a discharge chamber. The grip is provided with a hose connection for supplying a flow of water to the interior of the grip. A manually operated valve is provided on the grip for selective control of the water flow. An electrical resistance wire helix is located in the grip for raising the temperature of the water as it flows through the grip. The wand conveys the heated water to a series of discharge nozzles in the discharge chamber wherefrom the heated water is ejected toward a snowy surface to melt the snow.
The references set out above either remove snow manually or melt the snow by using a device that requires the user to exert a great deal of physical effort. The prior art references generally are labor intensive, can cause back strain, require a certain amount of strength from maneuvering the apparatus, and in some instances, are generally unsafe to use.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a snow removal system which can be easily and safely used by the consumer with out being a physical strain and possibly harmful.
The primary object of the present invention is to provide a novel system of melting snow along the exterior of a building or other structure with the use of an apparatus that is retrofitted onto indoor plumbing.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a fluid-control pipe that that can be retrofitted to indoor plumbing to create a multipurpose indoor snow removal system which solves many of the hazards with the prior art snow removal devices and systems, such as manual removal of the snow through the use of devices that can result in back and shoulder strain.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a fluid-control pipe which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed because it is made of light-weight plastic.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a multipurpose indoor snow removal system that uses the fluid-control pipe to control water flow for snow removal.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a unitary fluid-control pipe which is of a durable and reliable construction, and not bulky, so to allow persons of different strength levels to retrofit the apparatus to indoor plumbing.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method of using a multipurpose indoor snow removal system for snow removal that is superior to the apparatus of the prior art by being easy to use and overcomes the physically harmful disadvantages normally associated with using the snow removal devices of the prior art.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a indoor snow removal system to provide a fluid-control pipe that is easily retrofitted to the standard indoor plumbing without the need for special tools.
Yet still another object of the present invent is to provide a method that rapidly removes snow from structures, vehicles, and the areas surrounding those structures.
Further still, the present multipurpose indoor snow removal system is not limited to being used to remove snow. The present invention may be safely used for other jobs interior the structure and exterior the structure.
After extensive study and testing of various ways to remove snow from the roof, balcony, car, or driveway without having to use a shovel or blower, the present inventor discovered that by retrofitting his snow removal system to the interior cold/hot water plumbing or hot water plumbing singularly, snow could be safely, easily, and economically melted away.
Accordingly, a primary method of using a multipurpose indoor snow removal system for snow removal is to provide a way to retrofit indoor plumbing and transform the indoor plumbing to a snow removal system for exterior use, while maintaining the integrity of the existing interior plumbing. As such, the general purpose of the present invention will be described subsequently in greater detail.
To attain this, the present invention is essentially a system of removing snow using a multipurpose indoor snow removal system is retrofitted to the plumbing of an indoor sink. In use, the hot water fluid line is uncoupled from the sink faucet of a main hot water supply pipe. The fluid-control pipe is coupled to the main hot water supply pipe at the fluid inlet end. Further, the fluid-control pipe has at least two fluid outlets with one of the fluid outlets coupled to the hot water fluid line of the sink faucet. To complete the indoor snow removal system, another of the fluid outlets has dual fluid release ends wherein each has a fluid control formed thereon. One free end of the dual fluid release ends has a flexible hose coupled thereto, with the flexible hose having a control means at a fluid release end. The other free end of the dual fluid release ends may be coupled to the cold water line of the sink.
The main hot water supply is turned on, and hot water flows into the fluid-control pipe of the indoor snow removal system to be released into the flexible hose. As the water fills the flexible hose, the flexible hose is extended beyond the indoor sink for extending to the exterior of a building housing the sink. The user of the indoor snow removal system then aims the flexible hose at a structure for snow removal and clearing away. The hot water is allowed to flow from the main hot water supply pipe of the sink for spraying onto the structure to melt the snow with the hot water being released from the fluid release end of the flexible hose.
The snow is melted from the area of the structure leaving area free of snow. The indoor snow removal system can be coupled to the cold water main supply pipe in the same manner. Furthermore, the cold water can be allowed to enter into the fluid-control pipe for mixing with the hot water as it is released through the flexible hose.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one method of snow removal used by the inventor in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
These, together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages, and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.